While waiting in LAX for.... 14 HOURS I had some time to look for lodging at my first stop of Tokyo, Japan. I looked at hostels and at couch surfing and settled with a couch surfer named Tomo.
My flight landed in Tokyo at about 8:45PM Tokyo time and finally arrived at Tomo's abode around midnight. I checked in with family back home and went to sleep.
The flight was fine. There were a few bouts of really bad turbulence, though. I imagined the plane splitting in half before crashing onto an unchartered island in the Pacific and then having to survive in a jungle with loads of mysteries and constantly having flash-backs of the lowpoints of my life. So I looked around at my fellow passengers to determine who would be the leader and what parts everyone else would play. I realized I could quite possibly be the one survivor no one could understand. Then I laughed to myself and put all this outlandish thinking out of my head because I was sitting in the last row; I wouldn't survive anyway. Soon the plane passed through the turbulent air and all was good in the world again. Oh, the food was really good, too. We were served two full meals plus snacks. I wasn't hungry until the next afternoon!
The next day was Sunday. I took my list of recommendations from my friend and neighbor, Rachel, who lived in Japan for ten years, and set out on the town-- er- city. My first impression of Tokyo: BUSY. Busy because there are always people out and about, but also because the word comes from "business." Seriously, there are so many business men rushing around Tokyo at all hours of the day (and night). Monday morning I sat on a bench in the subway and watched 4-5 trains packed with men all dressed exactly alike-- it was like the Japanese version of Men in Black. And for the record, when I say packed I mean there were guards at the doors because there was a real risk of people spilling out of the subway cars onto the track.
Rachel suggested I go to Yoyogi Park, so to Yoyogi Park I went. I got a little bit lost, but eventually found the place. There were a couple weddings and another ceremony going on. There was a temple and some fortunes. The recurring theme of Japan so far has been "guess what's happening, then find out for sure later." Very few signs, maps, pamphlets, etc. are in English; and when they are, sometimes they are mistranslated or incomplete. It makes for some interesting meals, though!
After Yoyogi Park I found a place for lunch. Rachel told me most places would have pictures or fake food in front and thank goodness for that! I don't know how many times I've essenially pointed and grunted with an "arigato!" thrown in there. For the record, I don't actually grunt, but if the server doesn't speak English I'm sure it would sound the same to her. I went to a noodle place. I don't know what I had, but I had to place my order via vending machine outside, then the guys inside the shop made it. Although busy, the Japanese seem to be very helpful. The man at the shop brought me outside and showed me how to order (bless his heart!). The noodles/soup was good. Let me just say here that I am so glad I know how to use chopsticks. I don't hold them "properly" and I'm not as efficient as most 9 year-olds, but I can get the food from my plate to my mouth without looking like a damn fool and for that I am eternally grateful.
After the lunch of noodles I met up with one of the many Japanese girls my family has hosted over the years. Mebae stayed with us in 2005. She and Ikuko made my dad okonomiyaki (essentially seafod pancakes) that he still talks about nearly eight years later. I think it made Mebae's day when I told her Dad still talks about how delicious tha meal was. I had a specific meeting place set up with Mebae because there are so many people in Tokyo...
I'm going to digress about Mebae for a moment because I want you all to try and understand how big Tokyo is. According to Google there are 13.22 million people living in Tokyo. That's more than the top two most populated US cities together. It's more than the seven most populated US cities after New York combined (Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, and San Diego). There are more people living in the Tokyo area than... are you ready for this? It's gonna blow your frickin' mind... ALL OF CANADA! Tokyo is huge.
OK, back to Mebae. Well, kinda. It would be racist to say that all Japanese people look the same. It's not racist to say that all Japanese people look similar. (So similar in fact that school children stare at tourists on the subway and sometimes go as far as to ask to take a photo). It would suffice to say that I was a little worried I would think the wrong girl was Mebae and it would be super embarrassing. Luckily that didn't happen. Kids have asked to take a photo with me before, though.
Mebae took me to Shibuya. I got a good photo of it, but I've since lost my camera... Google it. Shibuya is famous for its size and I think it accurately depicts Tokyo in one giant intersection. After Shibuya we went to a temple called Asakusa. There were lots of street merchants selling food, fortunes, and other miscellaneous knick-knacks. Mebae bought us some kibidango. Dango is, according to wikipedia, "sweets made from mochiko (rice flour), related to mochi." The kind we had is made with millet flour. It looks like white tapioca bubbles on a skewer, then covered with a sauce, and these had a brown powder on them as well. They were good. I thought they tasted a bit like peanut butter. Also at Asakusa temple there was omikuji. Omikuji is a fortune on a stick. After giving an offering, I chose a canister and shook it while thinking of a wish/prayer. Or at least I was supposed to be thinking of a prayer-- I wasn't really sure what was going on. Then a stick came out of a hole in the can and we matched up the stick to the numbered drawer. It's a good thing Mebae was here for that part because the numbers on the sticks and drawers were written in kanji. Inside the drawer held my fortune. It was a bad fortune, so we tied it to a tree. Then we looked at the temple. It was big.
After Asakusa we walked towards the Sky Tree. Like everything else in Tokyo, with the exception of the people, the Sky Tree was huge. Actually, I take that back. Babies are giants here. Now before y'all get on a plane to see the "Giant Babes of Tokyo" let me explain. The babies and toddlers are average American human size (I know, I can hear your hearts breaking and see your crestfallen faces from here), but the women are smaller than most women in the states. So when the two-year-olds are being carried by ladies not quite twice their size, the children appear to be all arms and legs and look like giants. On the way to the Sky Tree Mebae got really excited about some food at a tiny hole-in-the-wall. "Takoyaki!" Mebae squealed. Takoyaki is octopus dumplings. They are about the size of a golf ball and have octopus and some vegetables inside (onions and cabbage was in ours) and a sauce on top. I thought takoyaki was OK. I might get it again, but I wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't.
The Sky Tree was pretty neat. It's 637 meters tall and lights up. There are shops and resturants on most of the floors. We were going to get sushi, but had takoyaki instead, so we just walked around and got ice cream. It sounds funny, but being in the Sky Tree reminded me a lot of being in the Olympic Village in Vancouver, BC in 2010 because Vancouver has such a big Japanese population. After the Sky Tree I was tired and fighting a migraine, so I said good-bye to Mebae and I went back to Tomo's.
I had tried to find another Couch Surfing host because I felt uncomfortable at Tomo's. Not uncomfortable as in unsafe, more like I was intruding even though he invited me to stay with him. I didn't have much luck, so I booked a night at a hostel. It turns out I was correct in my assumption that I was imposing on Tomo's life. When I left his flat he said he only hosted me to get a reference on the Couch Surfing site. A series of emails over the next 4 days confirmed my assumption and I'm pretty sure Tomo is a nutcase. Not a dangerous one, though. That's the thing; I feel super safe in Japan. It's got one of the lowest crime rates in the world. So that's a plus.
I had to leave Tomo's flat with him by 8:00 the next morning. That's when I got to witness the Japanese men in black. I didn't mention before why I was sitting on the subway bench watching the jam-packed cars-- there was no way in hell I was going to try to fit in the subway with my backpack. No sir. No ma'am. My plan was to wait for the men to go to work, then the trains wouldn't be so full. Nice theory. Long story short, the train in the opposite direction wasn't as full, so I crossed over to that track and rode it to the end. Then I was on an empty train and it didn't matter how much stuff I had.
I made it to the hostel, showered (it's hot in Japan! I've got a nice tan), and found a place to eat breakfast. I rode the subway to Tokyo Tower. It was pretty much just a big building. What was more interesting was the very young boy riding the subway alone. He was probably about six years old. He was super cute. I think the collectivistic Japanese culture just watches out for the children. People would know if something was wrong and they would all help the boy if he was in trouble. I rode the subway and wandered around Tokyo for a while then went back to the hostel to have a rest before going out with my exchange student friend from University.
When I went to meet Satomi later that night I accidentally took the wrong train. I still got to the place fine, but when I tried to exit I had the wrong ticket. It turned into a whole big thing and I didn't understand why I had to pay to leave if I already paid. I was frustrated when I left the station and I guess my frustrated face looks like a frightened face because these two black men thought I was scared of them. I think they were Nigerian. We were all waiting at the crosswalk and one guy turned to his friend behind him, said something in a language I didn't understand, and pointed to me. The gesture and tone seemed to say "Is she with you?" So I took a step away to say, "No, I don't know him." That's when one of them laughed and said in English, "What are you scared of? This is Japan." Looking back, it was funny. However, the station incident was still a fresh wound, and I didn't find it humorous.
Satomi and two of her friends, C. & D., and I went to a resturant in the Shinjuku area. They told me about nomihodai, which is where for one flat price one can drink to one's heart's content. It sounded pretty awesome. I didn't realize until the bill came that that's what we were doing and I could have drank more than one beer. Ah well, live and learn I suppose. The food was good... we had salad, chicken wings, some spicy soup, edamame, and something else I think. And once again, I silently thanked the gods that I knew how to use chopsticks.
My flight landed in Tokyo at about 8:45PM Tokyo time and finally arrived at Tomo's abode around midnight. I checked in with family back home and went to sleep.
The flight was fine. There were a few bouts of really bad turbulence, though. I imagined the plane splitting in half before crashing onto an unchartered island in the Pacific and then having to survive in a jungle with loads of mysteries and constantly having flash-backs of the lowpoints of my life. So I looked around at my fellow passengers to determine who would be the leader and what parts everyone else would play. I realized I could quite possibly be the one survivor no one could understand. Then I laughed to myself and put all this outlandish thinking out of my head because I was sitting in the last row; I wouldn't survive anyway. Soon the plane passed through the turbulent air and all was good in the world again. Oh, the food was really good, too. We were served two full meals plus snacks. I wasn't hungry until the next afternoon!
The next day was Sunday. I took my list of recommendations from my friend and neighbor, Rachel, who lived in Japan for ten years, and set out on the town-- er- city. My first impression of Tokyo: BUSY. Busy because there are always people out and about, but also because the word comes from "business." Seriously, there are so many business men rushing around Tokyo at all hours of the day (and night). Monday morning I sat on a bench in the subway and watched 4-5 trains packed with men all dressed exactly alike-- it was like the Japanese version of Men in Black. And for the record, when I say packed I mean there were guards at the doors because there was a real risk of people spilling out of the subway cars onto the track.
Rachel suggested I go to Yoyogi Park, so to Yoyogi Park I went. I got a little bit lost, but eventually found the place. There were a couple weddings and another ceremony going on. There was a temple and some fortunes. The recurring theme of Japan so far has been "guess what's happening, then find out for sure later." Very few signs, maps, pamphlets, etc. are in English; and when they are, sometimes they are mistranslated or incomplete. It makes for some interesting meals, though!
After Yoyogi Park I found a place for lunch. Rachel told me most places would have pictures or fake food in front and thank goodness for that! I don't know how many times I've essenially pointed and grunted with an "arigato!" thrown in there. For the record, I don't actually grunt, but if the server doesn't speak English I'm sure it would sound the same to her. I went to a noodle place. I don't know what I had, but I had to place my order via vending machine outside, then the guys inside the shop made it. Although busy, the Japanese seem to be very helpful. The man at the shop brought me outside and showed me how to order (bless his heart!). The noodles/soup was good. Let me just say here that I am so glad I know how to use chopsticks. I don't hold them "properly" and I'm not as efficient as most 9 year-olds, but I can get the food from my plate to my mouth without looking like a damn fool and for that I am eternally grateful.
After the lunch of noodles I met up with one of the many Japanese girls my family has hosted over the years. Mebae stayed with us in 2005. She and Ikuko made my dad okonomiyaki (essentially seafod pancakes) that he still talks about nearly eight years later. I think it made Mebae's day when I told her Dad still talks about how delicious tha meal was. I had a specific meeting place set up with Mebae because there are so many people in Tokyo...
I'm going to digress about Mebae for a moment because I want you all to try and understand how big Tokyo is. According to Google there are 13.22 million people living in Tokyo. That's more than the top two most populated US cities together. It's more than the seven most populated US cities after New York combined (Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, and San Diego). There are more people living in the Tokyo area than... are you ready for this? It's gonna blow your frickin' mind... ALL OF CANADA! Tokyo is huge.
OK, back to Mebae. Well, kinda. It would be racist to say that all Japanese people look the same. It's not racist to say that all Japanese people look similar. (So similar in fact that school children stare at tourists on the subway and sometimes go as far as to ask to take a photo). It would suffice to say that I was a little worried I would think the wrong girl was Mebae and it would be super embarrassing. Luckily that didn't happen. Kids have asked to take a photo with me before, though.
Mebae took me to Shibuya. I got a good photo of it, but I've since lost my camera... Google it. Shibuya is famous for its size and I think it accurately depicts Tokyo in one giant intersection. After Shibuya we went to a temple called Asakusa. There were lots of street merchants selling food, fortunes, and other miscellaneous knick-knacks. Mebae bought us some kibidango. Dango is, according to wikipedia, "sweets made from mochiko (rice flour), related to mochi." The kind we had is made with millet flour. It looks like white tapioca bubbles on a skewer, then covered with a sauce, and these had a brown powder on them as well. They were good. I thought they tasted a bit like peanut butter. Also at Asakusa temple there was omikuji. Omikuji is a fortune on a stick. After giving an offering, I chose a canister and shook it while thinking of a wish/prayer. Or at least I was supposed to be thinking of a prayer-- I wasn't really sure what was going on. Then a stick came out of a hole in the can and we matched up the stick to the numbered drawer. It's a good thing Mebae was here for that part because the numbers on the sticks and drawers were written in kanji. Inside the drawer held my fortune. It was a bad fortune, so we tied it to a tree. Then we looked at the temple. It was big.
After Asakusa we walked towards the Sky Tree. Like everything else in Tokyo, with the exception of the people, the Sky Tree was huge. Actually, I take that back. Babies are giants here. Now before y'all get on a plane to see the "Giant Babes of Tokyo" let me explain. The babies and toddlers are average American human size (I know, I can hear your hearts breaking and see your crestfallen faces from here), but the women are smaller than most women in the states. So when the two-year-olds are being carried by ladies not quite twice their size, the children appear to be all arms and legs and look like giants. On the way to the Sky Tree Mebae got really excited about some food at a tiny hole-in-the-wall. "Takoyaki!" Mebae squealed. Takoyaki is octopus dumplings. They are about the size of a golf ball and have octopus and some vegetables inside (onions and cabbage was in ours) and a sauce on top. I thought takoyaki was OK. I might get it again, but I wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't.
The Sky Tree was pretty neat. It's 637 meters tall and lights up. There are shops and resturants on most of the floors. We were going to get sushi, but had takoyaki instead, so we just walked around and got ice cream. It sounds funny, but being in the Sky Tree reminded me a lot of being in the Olympic Village in Vancouver, BC in 2010 because Vancouver has such a big Japanese population. After the Sky Tree I was tired and fighting a migraine, so I said good-bye to Mebae and I went back to Tomo's.
I had tried to find another Couch Surfing host because I felt uncomfortable at Tomo's. Not uncomfortable as in unsafe, more like I was intruding even though he invited me to stay with him. I didn't have much luck, so I booked a night at a hostel. It turns out I was correct in my assumption that I was imposing on Tomo's life. When I left his flat he said he only hosted me to get a reference on the Couch Surfing site. A series of emails over the next 4 days confirmed my assumption and I'm pretty sure Tomo is a nutcase. Not a dangerous one, though. That's the thing; I feel super safe in Japan. It's got one of the lowest crime rates in the world. So that's a plus.
I had to leave Tomo's flat with him by 8:00 the next morning. That's when I got to witness the Japanese men in black. I didn't mention before why I was sitting on the subway bench watching the jam-packed cars-- there was no way in hell I was going to try to fit in the subway with my backpack. No sir. No ma'am. My plan was to wait for the men to go to work, then the trains wouldn't be so full. Nice theory. Long story short, the train in the opposite direction wasn't as full, so I crossed over to that track and rode it to the end. Then I was on an empty train and it didn't matter how much stuff I had.
I made it to the hostel, showered (it's hot in Japan! I've got a nice tan), and found a place to eat breakfast. I rode the subway to Tokyo Tower. It was pretty much just a big building. What was more interesting was the very young boy riding the subway alone. He was probably about six years old. He was super cute. I think the collectivistic Japanese culture just watches out for the children. People would know if something was wrong and they would all help the boy if he was in trouble. I rode the subway and wandered around Tokyo for a while then went back to the hostel to have a rest before going out with my exchange student friend from University.
When I went to meet Satomi later that night I accidentally took the wrong train. I still got to the place fine, but when I tried to exit I had the wrong ticket. It turned into a whole big thing and I didn't understand why I had to pay to leave if I already paid. I was frustrated when I left the station and I guess my frustrated face looks like a frightened face because these two black men thought I was scared of them. I think they were Nigerian. We were all waiting at the crosswalk and one guy turned to his friend behind him, said something in a language I didn't understand, and pointed to me. The gesture and tone seemed to say "Is she with you?" So I took a step away to say, "No, I don't know him." That's when one of them laughed and said in English, "What are you scared of? This is Japan." Looking back, it was funny. However, the station incident was still a fresh wound, and I didn't find it humorous.
Satomi and two of her friends, C. & D., and I went to a resturant in the Shinjuku area. They told me about nomihodai, which is where for one flat price one can drink to one's heart's content. It sounded pretty awesome. I didn't realize until the bill came that that's what we were doing and I could have drank more than one beer. Ah well, live and learn I suppose. The food was good... we had salad, chicken wings, some spicy soup, edamame, and something else I think. And once again, I silently thanked the gods that I knew how to use chopsticks.
Here's a phrase for you to see if they speak English:
ReplyDeleteaye-e-go oh ha-nah-she-moss-kah? (eigo o hanashimasu ka?)